In January of this year, the AAUP joined the American Academy of Religion and the PEN American Center in a suit against the Departments of State and Homeland Security. The lawsuit, which has been litigated by the American Civil Liberties Union, sought to compel the government to admit Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan to the country, so that our members could associate with him and hear his views. Professor Ramadan had accepted a tenured position with Notre Dame University in January 2004, and made arrangements to move from Switzerland to the United States, when the government revoked his visa on the basis of what is known as the ideological exclusion provision of the Patriot Act. The government invited him to apply for a new visa, which he did in October 2004, but the consulate failed to act on it. In June of this year, a federal district court admonished the government for failing to act on the visa and failing to give a legitimate reason for its procrastination, and ordered the government to “adjudicate” Professor Ramadan’s visa by September 21.

On Thursday, Professor Ramadan received a letter from the United States Embassy in Bern informing him that his visa had been denied. The letter cited several donations by Professor Ramadan to Palestinian relief organizations that, the government alleges, in turn gave money to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization; Professor Ramadan had informed consular officials about these donations during his interviews two years ago. The letter does not explain the government’s two-year delay in either acting on the visa or providing a rationale for its intransigence. Professor Ramadan has expressed gratefulness to the AAUP and the other plaintiffs for supporting him, and has said that he will continue to speak about issues including the Iraq war.

It is not yet clear what legal steps, if any, may remain to be pursued in this case. The AAUP will be working with the ACLU, and the AAUP litigation committee, in assesing the need for further action. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this case, please feel free to contact Rachel Levinson, Associate Counsel, at rlevinson@aaup.org.

ACLU Press Release